


On the shoulders of a young woman

by MiriRainbowitz



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Merlin, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-29 12:45:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6375256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriRainbowitz/pseuds/MiriRainbowitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No young woman, no matter how great, can know her destiny. She cannot glimpse her part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, she must live and learn.</p>
<p>And so it will be for the young witch arriving at the gates of Camelot – a girl that will in time give birth to a legend. Her name: Felicity.</p>
<p>(aka, the olicity Merlin au no one asked for)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As always, blame lies on El for enabling this.

Pretending to be a boy was hard – Felicity had never really worn pants before, the binding on her breasts was horribly hot and itchy, and her hair had to be tucked into the cap she wore, and she had to remember to walk differently – but it was necessary. A young, unarmed woman, traveling by herself on foot, would have attracted a lot of unwanted and dangerous attention.

It would have been nice to stay in Ealdor, which she was familiar with, but the general attitude towards magic had been shifting from indifference to hostility. Donna and Cooper – her mom and best friend – had been quite sad to see her go, but the stares she’d been getting from the rest of the villagers were growing less and less friendly, and Quentin Lance, an old friend of her mother’s, had offered to take her in.

Which was why Felicity was currently on the road to Camelot. On the surface, going to live in a kingdom where magic was outlawed seemed like an incredibly stupid and dangerous idea, but the only person in Camelot who would know she had magic was Quentin Lance. As long as she kept her magic hidden, she would be fine.

Besides, she was 18 and single, and none of the boys in her village interested her. Her mom wanted her to marry, but she didn’t want to settle, and Camelot had a lot more people than Ealdor. Besides, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to marry – at least, not yet. Anyone she ended up with would have to know that she had magic.

Felicity heard the sound of hoofbeats around the corner, and took a brief second to straighten her posture. Fortunately, when the horse and rider came into view, the rider only nodded at her and continued on his way, and Felicity felt herself relax, a rueful smile on her face. At home, she never would have been so worried, or attuned to her surroundings, but she knew she had to make such constant vigilance a habit. Revealing her sex on the road or revealing her magic in Camelot would be disastrous.

 

Felicity stopped and gaped at the sight of the castle, but quickly remembered to keep moving. Still, as she walked through the city up towards the castle, she couldn’t help but be impressed at the noise and number of people. There were more people on the main street than there were in the entire village of Ealdor.

The castle was even more impressive up close, but Felicity wouldn’t allow herself to be intimidated. This was going to be her home now.

The sound of drums and the sight of a crowd of people drew her attention, and Felicity slipped through the crowd to get a better view of what was going on. There was a wooden platform, surrounded by soldiers, with a block of wood and a basket in front of it. Movement caught her eye, and Felicity turned to see an ordinary-looking man being marched towards the platform by two soldiers.

A woman’s voice cut through the air. “Let this serve as a lesson to all,” she said, and Felicity looked up at Queen Moira Pendragon of Camelot. “This man, Thomas James Collins, has been accused and convicted of using magic, which is banned under penalty of death.” With that, she lifted her hand, and Felicity turned back to see the man kneeling, his head on the block, and a hooded man with an ax climbing onto the platform.

Felicity closed her eyes, but she heard the thump of the ax hitting wood and the gasp of the crowd. She kept her eyes facing down – the sight of blood always nauseated her, and tried to keep from crying. She needed to get out of there – away from the harsh reality of what she would face if her magic was discovered – but before she could, the Queen started talking again.

“It has been 20 years since I banned the use of magic in Camelot, and with the people’s help, we have driven the evil of sorcery from this land and captured the Great Dragon. It is an occasion for great celebration, which all should participate in.”

Moira seemed to be done talking, so Felicity started to leave, but before she got far, an old woman started wailing. “There is only one evil in this land and it is not magic! It is you, with your hatred and your ignorance…” She was silent for a few seconds, then continued speaking. “You took my son, and I promise you, before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – a son for a son!”

“Seize her!” Moira commanded, but before the guards could reach her, a whirlwind appeared around the woman, forcing everyone back. When the wind cleared, the woman was gone.

The crowd dispersed quickly after that, and Felicity hurried away from the courtyard, heading towards the nearest entrance. There were two guards posted there, and Felicity barely remembered to lower her voice as she asked where to find the court physician. The guards, thankfully, didn’t seem to see through her disguise, and one of them pointed up the staircase.

When Felicity got to the wooden door at the top of the staircase, she knocked tentatively, but no one answered. Opening the door a little bit, she peeked her head in and called “Hello?”

There was still no response, so Felicity entered the room, carefully navigating through the tables filled with vials and plants and books. A noise made her look up to see a man standing on a balcony, his back to her. 

“Quentin?”, she called and the man turned around, knocking into the low wooden railing and shattering it. Instinctively, Felicity felt her magic slow down the man’s fall, then looked wildly around the room for something suitable for him to land on. Her eyes settled on a bed, and Felicity magically pushed it across the room, right under the man.

The man’s fall sped up and he landed on the bed with an “oof”, then lay there for a few seconds, gasping, before sitting up and looking at Felicity. “What did you just _do_?” 

“I – nothing,” Felicity stammered. “I don’t know –”

“Spare the excuses, boy,” the man said. “We both know what that was, but where did you learn how to do that?”

“Nowhere,” Felicity replied. When the man raised his eyebrows, Felicity continued, “I was – born like this.”

“That’s not possible,” the man said immediately. Felicity didn’t reply, only stared stubbornly at the man.

“Who are you, anyway?”, the man asked.

“Oh – I’m Felicity. Smoak. Donna Smoak’s daughter,” Felicity replied. 

“Oh, of course,” the man said. “I didn’t recognize you, you look like a boy.”

“Unarmed boy traveling alone is a lot safer than an unarmed girl traveling alone,” Felicity said, pulling off her cap and letting her hair down. 

“That certainly is true. Well, Felicity, you can call me Quentin, and you’d better put your stuff in there,” he said, indicating a door at the end of the room. 

As Felicity reached the steps heading up to the door, she heard Quentin say, “I think it goes without saying that what just happened doesn’t leave this room, but I would like to say thank you.”

Felicity smiled a bit. No one had ever thanked her for using magic, and the warm feeling that spread through her at Quentin’s words was a nice balm to her thus far tumultuous day.


	2. Chapter 2

The room clearly hadn’t been inhabited in a while, as evidenced by the amount of dust and cobwebs, but Felicity was honestly too excited by the prospect of having her own room to mind too much. In Ealdor, Felicity and her mother had had to share a room, so having an actual room, all to herself… Felicity had actually done a little gleeful dance once the door was closed, before dissolving into a coughing fit from the dust.

If she’d used a little bit of magic to help speed up the process of getting the – _her_ – room habitable again, no one would know. She’d made sure the door and windows were closed, and it wasn’t like she spoke any spells. It was certainly easier than cleaning by hand, but it chafed that Felicity had to be so secretive about it. She’d done this plenty of times at home without bothering to check if anyone was watching.

 _Better alive and chafed than dead, though_ , Felicity thought. As long as she kept it a secret, she’d at least be able to use magic freely, which was a good thing, considering the fact that she wasn’t actually physically capable of not using magic. Before she’d left Ealdor, she’d tried not using magic, but doing so had only made her magic a lot harder to control. She’d found herself doing a lot of accidental magic, something that had only happened when she’d been too young to control her magic.

In addition to copious amounts of dust and dirt, the room had a bed, a desk, a chair, and a dresser. The dresser had some clothes, but unfortunately for Felicity, they were all men’s clothes. Felicity had only brought one dress with her – she and her mother had assumed that there would be suitable clothes for her in Camelot – so she’d probably have to wear those clothes until she could get more suitable outfits. At least she wouldn’t have to keep binding her breasts or concealing her hair.

When she’d finally gotten settled in, it was approaching evening, and Felicity decided to just let herself relax. She’d probably be kept busy starting tomorrow, but for now, there was nothing she had to do and no one she had to meet. A lazy flick of her hand opened the window, and the sounds of Camelot – her new home – washed over her. It was unfamiliar, especially compared to Ealdor, but there was just something about it that put her at ease.

Quentin’s muffled voice came through the door. “Felicity, I’m eating dinner now.”

Felicity got out of the bed and walked into the main room. She would have preferred to stay alone, but she was hungry, and she also needed to ask Quentin where she could get some clothes.

 

_Felicity… Felicity..._

The sound of her name being whispered by an unfamiliar voice woke Felicity up. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was, but then the memories of what had happened yesterday came back to her. Right – she was in Camelot as the ward of her mother’s friend and Court Physician Quentin Lance, and the room she was in was her very own bedroom. Still, as she sat up in her bed and looked around, she couldn’t help but wonder about the voice. She’d never heard it before in her life, and it had sounded so real…

Felicity shrugged on a shirt and pants from the wardrobe, then tied her hair back and put on the jacket she’d worn on the road. Quentin was eating breakfast when she exited her room. 

“I got you some water. You didn’t wash last night,” he said, and Felicity suddenly became aware of the fact that she hadn’t had a bath for a week. 

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“S’ok,” Quentin replied. “Just letting you know. Help yourself to breakfast.”

Breakfast was a bowl of lumpy, unappetizing-looking porridge, and as Felicity was staring at a spoonful, she saw Quentin knock a bucket off the table out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she froze the bucket and its contents in midair, then looked up at Quentin, who looked shocked. Felicity unfroze the bucket, and it clattered to the floor.

“Why did you do that?” Felicity asked.

“I don’t understand how you’re able to do that,” Quentin replied, shaking his head. “Did you incant a spell in your mind?”

“I don’t know any spells,” Felicity said. “Stuff like this just – happens.”

“Well, we should definitely try to keep you out of trouble then,” Quentin replied. “Paid work will help with that, but until then, helping me should be good enough. Here – take this hollyhock and feverfew to Lady Percival, and this for Sir Olwen.” He handed her a bag and a bottle. “Olwen’s as blind as a beetle, so make sure you tell him not to take it all at once. And here.” He handed her a plate with a sandwich with a smile. “Off you go.”

 

Her delivery to Lady Percival goes off without a hitch, but Sir Olwen drinks the whole bottle before she can tell him not to. Felicity decides not to tell Quentin, then starts to head back to his room.

She’s crossing a courtyard when a young man’s voice cuts through the air. “Where’s the target?”

Someone – a servant, presumably – replies, “Right there, sir.”

“It’s into the _sun_ ,” the young man says, and Felicity stops and turns to see what’s going on.

The young man is easy to spot. It’s not just that he’s very attractive – although he certainly is – but he has a certain air about him. He looks like he knows he’s in charge and is expected to be obeyed. Looking at him, Felicity feels a sense of recognition, even though she’s never seen him before.

“It’s not that bright,” the servant says, and then Felicity’s opinion of the young man plummets when he replies, “Just like you, then?” If there’s one thing Felicity can’t stand, it’s a person who picks on helpless people.

As she watches, the servant picks up the target and starts moving it to the other end of the field. The young man nocks an arrow, then shoots at the target while the servant is still moving. The servant stops, shocked, then keeps moving, his expression scared, when the young man says something about wanting moving target practice.

After a minute of this, the servant drops the target, which rolls to a stop at Felicity’s feet. She’s beyond furious now, Quentin’s words about not getting in trouble pushed aside by a rage-induced clarity. “That’s enough,” she says, her voice cold as winter.

The man, who’d been laughing with his friends, looks at her. “Says – who are you?”

“Quentin Lance’s ward,” Felicity replies shortly. Her magic is screaming to get out, to attack this arrogant man, and it’s only the memory of yesterday’s execution that manages to keep it in control. 

The young man smirks. “Well, Quentin Lance’s ward – how do you plan on convincing me to listen to you?”

Felicity looks down, making sure no one can see her eyes flash gold, then looks back up at the man and his friends. “Like this,” she replies, then stomps on the target, which, weakened by her magic, breaks in half. The looks of shock on everyone’s faces makes her grin internally. 

“Good day,” she bites out, then hurries away. It’s only once she’s inside that the enormity of what she’d just done hits her, and she starts shaking. She’d risked death just to teach that arrogant bully a lesson! 

She’s definitely not going to tell Quentin about this.


End file.
